A Devon village will be the focus of an international ceremony marking the 100th anniversary of the deaths of a group of New Zealand soldiers.

The ten men died when they were hit by a train at Bere Ferrers railway station on September 24, 1917.

The troops had landed in Plymouth only hours before and were on their way to fight in the First World War.

A ceremony on Sunday in the Tamar Valley village will be attended by the New Zealand High Commissioner Lieutenant General Sir Jerry Mateparae and the country’s defence attaché Brigadier Evan Williams.

Eddie Ember, who has been involved in organising the event for the Royal British Legion, said the village had marked the event each year since 1917 and there would be a good turnout by residents.

“This is probably the most tragic event ever in Bere Ferrers,” he said.

“To think these men had travelled halfway round the world to answer the call of their ‘mother country’. It is important to remember the fallen and the sacrifice they made for this country.”

The men of the 28th reinforcement were on their way to Sling Camp on Salisbury Plain. They had been told that two men from each carriage could collect rations at Exeter, the scheduled first stop.

When the train stopped at Bere Ferrers – which the soldiers did not know was to allow an express to pass – the men exited from the same doors they had used to get into the train, straight on to the tracks and into the path of the Waterloo-Plymouth service.

Nine were killed immediately. The tenth man died later in Tavistock Hospital.

Their burial in Efford Cemetery, Plymouth, drew a crowds of thousands.

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The inquest and a military inquiry both concluded the tragedy was an accident, but a Plymouth man who has investigated historical records believes there was a cover-up.

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“The conclusion was that the men had disobeyed orders by getting on to the tracks,” said Ian Higgins.

“The soldiers did what they were told to do. It was a cover-up to avoid blaming the officers. They were all brave men who had come all the way from New Zealand.”

A brass plaque marking the loss of life was installed in the parish church shortly after the incident. In 2001 a granite scroll was added to the village’s war memorial, bearing the names of the ten.

The commemoration on Sunday will also involve the Deputy Lord Lieutenant of Devon, Brigadier Simon Young, and begins at Bere Ferrers Railway Station at 3.40pm, followed by a service in the parish church and a dedication at the war memorial led by the Rector, Nick Law.